Of Deodorant, Irony and Piggy Backs
by IceQueenRex
Summary: Haruhi was never much of a sporty person, but even she needed exercise once in a while, but by a twist of events, the one day she tried to get some, she ended up with a lot more than she bargained for, including a birthday she'd remember.


**_Theme: Birthday theme_**

**_Title: Of Deodorant, Irony and Piggy Backs_**

**_Rating: PG - 13_**

**_Genre: Humour/Romance_**

**_Character(s)/Pairing(s): Haruhi/Mori_**

**_Summary: Haruhi was never much of a sporty person, but even un-sporty people need exercise once in a while, but by a twist of events for this brown eyed girl, the one day she tried to get some, she ended up with a lot more than she bargained for, including a birthday she would NEVER forget._**

It was just another boring Saturday morning for Fujioka Haruhi, world sports hater and P.E _un-_taker if you were to just make up the word. Now, one question you may ask, why does this girl dislike sports so much? Simple...B.O. She notices that even a little sweat can either make people look extremely strong and good, or just make them stink to high heaven, which unfortunately wasn't that far and occasionally, one or two Angels would fall to earth after taking a whiff of the disgusting stench.

And so, ever since her little body had started to mature, bringing along with it the dreaded B.O, Haruhi has hated sports...or anything else that gets you so worked up that you smell. Which is why, deodorant has become one of her many best friends next to shampoo, soap and sweet smelling body lotion.

So, here's another question; why would so called sports hater and B.O despiser find herself at a rather large park wearing a t-shirt, a pair of khakis, sneakers and have a big bicycle with her? One word: exercise. Yep! This girl was about to brave the obstacles of the road for a little muscle toning...However, the look of pure fury and sulkiness told everyone else that biking wasn't really what she _wanted _to do, but rather _had _to do.

"Me and my stupid fitness jokes." The girl muttered sullenly. Checking her bag for the umpteenth time, she made sure she had her best friend, Mr. Man Deodorant with her. The only reason she wore man's deodorant was because it worked far better than female ones...She knew first hand about that.

Sighing, Haruhi mounted her bike and began to cycle along the dirt path. It was based on a flat piece of land, occasionally rising ever so slightly, just enough for a person to feel it in their muscles...and that feeling for Haruhi consisted of pain, fatigue and cramped legs at the very least. How she hated exercise, the one thing her father let her _not _ do.

It was a usual, sunny day, the park being filled with families and friends who brought their barbecue set, balls and racquets and other family items. Usually the unconscious type, the girl had an exception. She was surprisingly nervous and conscious of herself when she went out cycling...probably due to the fact that people would either stare at her when she went past, usually resulting in the girl wobbling or falling off her bike and making a total mockery of herself, but also probably because during sports, she was a very self conscious person!

Now if that wasn't breaking news of the day... She moved swiftly, past the throng of people, all seated or scurrying along on the grass. Trying to pry her mind away from the uncomfortable stares and bikers who whizzed past, in a more athletic, skillful, not to mention a lot more experienced manner, Haruhi chose to drown out everything else around, except herself and the road. It really was intimidating.

Her mind began to wonder, traveling far and wide. Though no sooner had she begun daydreaming, that a sudden itch crept its war into her mind. Frowning in thought, curiosity getting the better of her, she began mentally shuffling through the last few days and what she had written in her school diary.

And that was never really a good thing to be doing while cycling but desperate (and curious) times caused for desperate measures. Well, as desperate as finding out what she had forgotten got anyway._"What is it? There's something I had for today...it wasn't just the cycling..." _She thought, still deep in thought.

"_What is it?" _Her seat bumped up and down as she sailed on the rocky path, and this only contributed to her annoyance, for she couldn't for the life of her, remember what it was she had written down in her memo.

Rolling her brown eyes in frustration, the girl huffed and rode faster, growling unconsciously and moving swiftly past people and other annoying beings that got in her way. This girl had a thinking marathon going and she was about to win it, despite who got killed or knocked down in the process!

Her mind whizzed a mile a minute, running down the lane of memories and events that had occurred in the last few days.

"_Aha! I know! It was the tea ceremony at dad's pub!...No that was yesterday...damn!" _

It was times like this, when certain events unfolded, especially to the oblivious. Because as absurd and absolutely clichéd as this may sound, it would be Haruhi's and another person's oblivious state of mind that would lead to their encounter...in a most – for Haruhi's part – painful way. Fate really was a strange thing to meddle with and these two souls were quickly becoming evidence of that fact.

She continued down the road that she would eventually love in the not so distant future...which happened to be roughly a couple of minutes from now. At the speed she was going, people soon ended up not only shouting after her, but actually scooting out of her way as the sport's hater zoomed past mercilessly, burning not only a few calories, but the rubber tires that kept her on top.

"_Maybe I had to do laundry today...nope, that's tomorrow..."_

What a change...magnificent. Her P.E teacher would have been proud!

Meanwhile, a few metres down the road, was said other person, also with an oblivious state of mind, cycling nonchalantly at forty kilometres per hour, racing past people who hardly noticed him due to his smooth swerving, always narrowly missing anyone in the way. But why exactly would people be paying Haruhi all the attention in the world during her most hated activity, while this boy received none at all? Perhaps we should blame it all on the cruelty of life...and irony.

However, there was a tiny little glitch in that crude irony. Because, if looked closely and hard enough, one could look past the blurry mess that was his face and see the clean, refined, sharp features of what many females would call his "gorgeous face."

His dark eyes held an air of mystery and almost mischief...almost. With even one glance, one could tell that secrets and mysteries lay behind the veils of those dark orbs, behind the dusty yet penetrating gaze, behind the stoic and hard lips.

"_Maybe I was supposed to go grocery shopping today...oh wait no, I did that too...hmmm."_

Howbeit today, that air of shadow was hardly to be found, replaced by a darker aura...a rather sad and depressed feeling, that hung over him like a wet blanket, suffocating him and bringing him down. His long, tanned fingers gripped the handles of the bike even tighter than before and the dark haired boy increased his speed, his face betraying absolutely no emotion whatsoever anymore.

A single bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, falling onto his shoulder. It was the first drop of perspiration yet...He really was getting better at all this. And he'd been going at it for about an hour now!

"_Oh! It was the drain! I was supposed to unclog it!...Oh wait, no dad already did that didn't he...argh! Whar was it?"_

But today, not even a little work up could get those happy juices flowing. Today was supposed to be a special day, for behind that cool facade, sat quite an emotional and surprisingly negative being. Apparently nothing could brighten up his day. It was a shame, because for a person whose smile was rarely seen, a bitter look could make him look almost menacing.

And so, here were these two souls, one driven to madness, still trying to figure out what was so special today, and another driven to negativity and dampness. And add in another little fact; they were zooming right towards each other, both oblivious, both clueless and both about to crash. Talk about impact.

And it was in that split second, before their vehicles collided, that Haruhi's head snapped up, her eyes wide and filled with utmost jubilee. "I remembered!" She shouted happily. "It's Mori-senpai's birthday today!"

And just when she said that, the boy who was directly opposite her, heard her cry, caught her gaze and felt warmth like he had never felt before. Takashi Morinozuka couldn't believe how happy and content he was, hearing someone finally remembering his birthday today.

However, that split-second-happiness was rather short-lived as the front wheels of their bikes collided in a crash that even Mori couldn't prevent. However, the birthday-boy, having a much tighter grip on the handles luckily stayed seated. That could not however be said for poor Haruhi who was thrown forward roughly, grazing her leg on the chain of her bike and getting her ankle caught behind the peddle. Having turned slightly while being forced forward, she heard a tiny "crack" as pain shot up through her leg and she was flung none too gently right into the boy opposite her, knocking them both to the ground.

They lay there for some time, Haruhi in quite a lot of pain, Mori in a bit of shock. The boy had the wind totally knocked out of him and he had to take a few calming breaths, squinting his eyes and groaning in pain. Both were covered in dust and for some strange reason at a time like this, there were no people around to help. It was that darn irony again.

A throbbing ache found it's way into Haruhi's body. Her ribs hurt from being thrust into a hard object and her ankle seemed swollen. Her eyes were shut in pain, her fingers curling around something that seemed like fabric. Brown eyes snapping open sudden, Haruhi sat up, sending her mind through a frenzy of dizziness. "Oh...ouch." She hissed, holding her head.

She had suddenly realised that she had been lying down on top of someone. Getting up slowly this time, and opening her eyes, she looked down at the person and said apologetically, "I am so sor-" Stopping in her trail of speech, she gaped, seeing who she had not-so-nicely fallen into. "Mori-senpai! Ano! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going! Are-are you hurt?"

Mori on the other hand had just been watching her quietly. She seemed to be in quite a lot of pain judging by the facial expressions that had run across her face and the few small gashes and bruises on her arms. And as he looked up at her sweet face which was directly above his, he said quietly,

"Thank you."

Apologetic turned into confusion as the girl asked, "Excuse me?"

He sighed, and sat up, carefully moving her to the side and rubbing his head.

"For what?" She tried again.

Frowning concernedly, he moved closer and spotted her leg. "You're hurt. Let me see your leg."

"_Well...this is unexpected." _She thought dazedly. Bringing her right leg forward, she lied calmly, "It's nothing bad, I hope. It's not that painful." Watching feverishly as he carefully pulled off her shoe and sock, Haruhi noticed that a good part of her foot really was a little swollen and sharply aching. Biting her lip at the pain, she looked at him questioningly.

"It's not bad. Just a little pulled and bent the wrong way. It should be healed in a few days." Pulling off the towel from around his neck, he began slowly wrapping it around her hurt foot, all the while being careful not to hurt it anymore. To state it bluntly, Haruhi was quite stunned at his gentleness and tenderness.

"Thank you, Mori-senpai."

Her quiet and sincere voice made him give the most smallest of smiles and yet it wasn't transient that she couldn't catch it.

Smiling back, she tried getting up, only to have her savior say quickly. "Don't. You'll hurt it more."

He got up, dusting himself off and swiftly picked her up, making her cling onto his back. "Eh! Are you sure?" She was fairly dazed at his actions and he only responded with a nod of the head. Though, to be speaking, this had to be the most she had EVER heard coming out of the senior boy's mouth. Quite astonishing really.

Though what was even more astonishing, was the fact that she was currently being carried by him! _"This day really is strange..."_

They walked for a while, heading through brush and bramble, Haruhi having no idea whatsoever where they were headed. She thought that no doubt her companion would. She smiled against his back and leaned her head against it, closing her eyes. It really was very comfortable and it felt very soothing. His steps were long yet smooth, his heels only gently coming into contact with the ground.

They walked up the tree congested hill, on a path that Haruhi had never taken before. When they reached the top, Haruhi noticed a bench right at the edge, underneath a large tree. Looking around in wonder, Haruhi frowned as Mori placed her on the bench carefully, taking his seat next to her and looking at the view of the entire park below. Haruhi remained silent and looked at him, sidelong. She smiled softly, liking the way the early morning sun danced across his refined, strong features.

They were so traditional, his eyes were long, slanted and sharp, his nose high, aristocratic and his lips...they were so profound and fierce, never once betraying any words that would be released. Noticing that he was being stared at, Mori turned to look at her. Haruhi just smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, saying,

"I think you spoke to me more today than any other day before, Mori-senpai."

He contemplated her for a few moments before nodding. "Perhaps. Forgive me."

"No, no. It's nothing to apologize for." Her smile was warm and sincere and Mori found himself relaxing somewhat. "Demo...you seem distracted. Is anything wrong?"

He smiled and said, "Not anymore."

She nodded, yet frowned in curiosity. All of a sudden, she remembered and turned to him, putting her hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. "Mori-senpai."

He turned to look at her in a gesture that told her to continue. Smiling happily, she quipped, "Happy Birthday! I was thinking of that when I was riding...and that's why I wasn't paying attention. Sorry."

He chuckled softly, "I know. I heard you. Thank you." The look in his eyes were so warm that Haruhi immediately felt happier and she felt a sort of sweet sensation run through her veins at his kind smile that without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed the boy on the cheek.

It was now his turn to be even remotely shocked as his dark eyes widened and turned to look at the girl only to find her staring and smiling nostalgically out at the pretty scene below them. Looking down with a quirk of a smile, Mori stood up and held out his hand.

"Let's go. We were supposed to meet Tamaki and the others today." He said.

"So _that's_ the other thing that I forgot!. Thank you for reminding me!" Haruhi grinned, lifting her own hand and allowing herself to be once again, placed on his back. As they walked, Haruhi noticed that she did thoroughly enjoy talking with the tall boy and tried her best to keep up conversation on their trek towards the flee market she was supposed to be taking all of them to. Completely forgetting her bike, she enjoyed and took advantage of her time with the birthday boy, unconsciously hugging his shoulders and she talked to him.

And as for the birthday boy, his day had not only been brightened thanks to someone remembering his birthday, but because she'd just given him a present he'd never forget.

A/N:...Meh! This is SUPPOSED to be an entry for the FroP fanfiction contest (and a dedication to Shiny-chan )...but it didn't really contain much of a birthday theme in it did it? **cries **I only hope that it is acceptable...but no fear! Next time there's a contest, I will do my best to fit the story DIRECTLY to the theme Erm...some good feedback would be greatly appreciated if you don't mind:D I love reviews...constructive criticism is even better! So please review and tell me what you think! And to my dear webmistress, Krysyuy...I'm sorry if it doesn't really fit the theme! I've never really done a contest like this before...so I'm so sorry if it's not quite right! XP Oh! And **bows down to you** for all your hard work in keeping the site alive:D OURAN WILL LIVE ON XD

Anyways...to everyone else...REVIEW:D


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